The cult of St. Katherine, virgin saint and martyr, is among the curious developments of legendary history, for her name appears for the first time about three hundred years after her reputed existence. She is first named in the _Life of Paulus Junior_ († 956), who was called a Latro from Mons Latrus, where he dwelt. The account of his life was written by a contemporary.[226] It describes how three hundred monks from Sinai and Raithou sought refuge in Mount Latrus in Karia from the persecutions of the Saracens (C. 8). The monks continued in close connection with Sinai. Gabriel sang the Psalms of David as he had done at the Bush, and when a pilgrimage was undertaken to pray for rain, Gabriel obtained the desired result (C. 18). The fame of the monks of Sinai as rain-makers was noted by Robinson and by Prof. Palmer.[227] Paulus himself was devoted to various saints, among whom was the martyr Aekatherina; the thought of her filled him with joy, and gave him a special power. One day the monks were sitting down to a meal in the open air when a rain cloud came up. Paulus bade them remain seated, and not a drop of rain fell until they had finished their meal, when it poured. Direct information on St. Katherine, in this case called Aekatherina, stands in the _Menology of Basileus_ which is dated between 957-1027. It stated that the saint dwelt at Alexandria, and was the daughter of a wealthy king. She was dignified in appearance and learned in Greek letters, philosophy, and language. After witnessing a festival of the Greeks, she approached the emperor Maximianus (A.D. 307) and blamed him for ignoring the living God and adoring lifeless idols. The emperor summoned fifty learned men to meet her in argument, threatening them with death if they failed to confound her. But the learned men were convinced by the lady and accepted baptism, whereupon they were put to death. Aekatherina was beheaded.[228] A detailed account of the martyrdom was written by Simeon Metaphrastes († _c._ 956), with discussions between the learned men and the lady, and with further incidents including the conversion of the general, Porphyrios; the interest which the Augusta took in Katherine; the fashioning of spiked wheels for torturing the saint, which broke of their own accord; the flow of milk instead of blood when she was beheaded, a proof of her virginity; and the taking up of the body of the saint after death by angels who carried her to Mount Sinai.[229]